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Backpacks stuffed with donated school supplies for underprivileged kids line a hallway at the Hopelink center.

SHORELINE, Wash. -- Starting the school year can be both an exciting and stressful time for children and their families.  The stress only gets stronger when families can't afford to buy all the supplies that help get kids off on the right foot. One local charity, Hopelink, tries to take the edge off that stress for families by providing backpacks stuffed with supplies to every school aged child who comes through the doors of their food bank -- about 17-hundred students.

The charity says it's well-supplied with backpacks for their smallest clients, but they still need a lot of help when it comes to older children.

"We have those that work well for the small kids, but we need probably four or five hundred more for the older children." Says Teresa Andrade, the manager of the Northshore and Shoreline Hopelink Centers.

And it's not just backpacks. Hopelink is also looking for donations of one- to three-inch three-ring notebooks and dividers. They're hoping the public will answer their plea for help -- quickly. They hope to have all the necessary supplies by Tuesday so they can distribute the supplies to students on Thursday. Andrade says starting the school year on the right foot is a key to success.

"I feel that education is one thing that can never be taken away from these kids," she says, "And it's something that can make a huge difference in their whole lives. And so to have the right supplies to begin with makes a big difference."   

You can donate at any Hopelink center.